New Delhi: The Indian cricket is witnessing new highs and lows recently. While the win in ODI cricket World Cup 2011 brought euphoria to the followers of the game, the team’s loss in the Test series against England on home turf has disheartened the fans.

The drubbing in Test series has come as a surprise because the English team has got success in India after a long gap of 28 years. The loss has fuelled rage among cricket lovers and the demand for removal of Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the captain of the Indian cricket team is rising day by day. However, some people are still hopeful of team India returning to its winning ways.

Now, the Indian team is scheduled to play two T20 games against England. The performance in the T20s will showcase India’s preparedness for the upcoming series with Pakistan. We have tried to analyse the prospect of Indian team in the T20 match against England at Pune’s Sahara stadium.

Reasons that will bolster India’s chances

1. After the defeat in the Test series, a new set of players have been picked up to play the T20 games. Fresh blood has been inducted in the team and most of the players would be the ones who were not part of the Test series. Successful players from IPL will be included in the team.

2. In form Ajinkya Rehane is expected to replace Virender Sehwag at the top of the order and open the innings with Gambhir. Rehane had scored half century in the last T20 game played at Manchester in England. Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu will be the middle-order batsmen.

3. The bowling unit will be overhauled completely. There will be younger faces replacing Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma. Ashok Dinda, Parwinder Awana, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is expected to be given Indian caps.

4. Most of the younger players are those who have performed better in the Ranji season. Ravindra Jadeja figures on top of the list. Apart from him, Ajinkya Rehane and Ambati Rayudu were also eagerly waiting for their turn.

5. All-rounders like Yuvraj Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Suresh Raina are expected to provide more strength to the team.

Places where India needs to improve

1. The lackluster captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni is hurting psychology of the team. The defeat in Test series has shattered his self-belief. His strategies are not working. Dhoni is under pressure to lead the team which is making matters worse.

2. Yuvraj Singh’s loss of form is a big worry for India’s middle-order batting strength. He has not performed well in the Test series and has failed to score on batting friendly pitches. Team India views Yuvraj as a prominent player who is expected to contribute immensely in the T20 games.

3. Gautam Gambhir had recently made a statement that he likes to open the innings with Sehwag. And the absence of Viru is certainly going to dent Gambhir’s morale.

4. The English team is having more efficient pacers in the form of James Dernbach, Tim Bresnan and James Harris and If they fire in the game, it will become difficult for the struggling Indian team.